Float or tank valve.



C. E. ALLGEY'ER.

FLOAT 0R TANK VALVE.

APPLICATION man NOV. I6, 1907.

Patented May 2, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- Lflfi/Z 0/; (Yan /206,2:

c. E. ALLGEYER.

FLOAT 0R TANK VALVE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16. 1907.

Patented May 2, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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{a cannon n. ALLGEYER, or on'rcneo, ILLINOIS, assrenon, BY nnsnnassrennnms:

T0 VINCENTJBENDIX, 0F CHICAQ'O, ILLINOIS.

i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, omens n. Aw

.. came, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulFloat or Tank Valve, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to float valves which are used to regulate theheight of water in a tank by shutting off the supply of water when theWater reaches a certain level and turning on the supply of water whenthe water goes below a certain level; and the objects of my improvementsare first, to provide a quick acting valve; second, to make the valve ofrubber; third, to reduce the Wear and tear on the valve; fourth, tofacilitate the movement of the valve in opening against the supply waterpressure; fifth, to make a cheap and durable construction and otherobjects which will become apparent' from the description to follow.

Float valves for purposes to which this invention is adaptable wereheretofore made to be moved by the short arm of a pivoted lever, thelong arm of said lever being provided with a float; this arran emcntcaused the water supply to be shut 0 slowly as the float was lifted bythe Water and in many constructions caused a disagreeable humming noise.Besides this there was always such aperceptible wear and grind on thevalve and valve seat caused by the velocity of the water durin the timethe valve was nearly closed, that it required the valve and valve seatto be made of metal; and these would soon become unevenly worn away andcause a constant leak.

With myinvention all these objectionable features are overcome, as thevalve never moves slowly away from or toward its seat. This entirelydispenses. with the wear on the valve from the velocity of the Water,and permits the use of a rubber valve.

Another feature of my invention is that the valve when being closedmoves with the flow of water instead of against it and is normally heldclosed by the water pressure.

I will now describe my invention so that any one versed in the art towhich it pertains could make and use the same.

Referring to the accompanymg two sheets of drawings forming a part ofthis specification: Figure 1, is a vertical section partly in elevationof a valve embodying my 1n- 1w anon mm vanvn.

' 5 {Specification of Letters Patent.

secured to the end of a water supply pipe Patented May 2, I916 appication filed November is, 1907. Serial to. 402,569. 7

not shown; a screw threaded opening 7 in the top into which is securedthe cap 8 provided with the air pocket or chamber 9 communicating withthe interior of the valve chamber 5 through the hole 10; and a hole 11in the bottom which is provided with the valve seat 12. A valve 13 madeof rubber or similar material which is secured to a pintle 14 in theusual way is inserted through the opening 7 before the cap 8 is adjustedand normally rests on the valve seat 12, closing the opening 11. Thelower end of the pintle 14 extends a material distance outside of thehole 11 and is provided with a lateral extending pin 15.

Secured to the lower exterior part of the valve chamber 5 is a collar 16preferably split and provided with the clamping bolt 17, which has theintegral fork extensions 18 and 19.

Pivoted by means of p. pin or shaft 20 to the fork 18 are the floatlever 21 whichis forked at this point, and an eyebolt 22, the eye ofwhich is between the forked portion of the float lever 21, and has thepin 20 passing therethrough. The short end of the float lever 21 isprovided with an arcuate slot 23 struck from a center concentric withthe pivotal pin 20 through which the pin 15 extends; and the long end ofthe float lever 21 is provided with the float 24:.

From the construction thus far described it is obvious that if thedevice is placed in a tank and a pipe supplying a constant pres sure ofwater is connected to the opening 6 the valve 13 will be held againstits seat 12 to move down further about the pin 20 the lower end of theslot 23 will contact with the pin 15 and lift the valve 13 up ofl' itsseat 12 against the valve chamber 5.

. It is necessary that the combined weight of the float and the long endof this lever 21 be sufficient to lift the valve 13 and its accessoriesagainst the water'pressure in the valve chamber 5. Therefore a greaterwater pressure on the one side requires a comparatively greater weightor its equivalent on the other side.

Since water is less expansive than air, and it requires a slightcompression of the fluid contained in the valve chamber 5 to open thevalve 13 I prefer to provide an air pocket in communication with thevalve chamber 5, for example the chamber 9.

To cause the valve 13 to move rapidly in either direction when once itstarts to move I provide on the short arm of the lever 21 pressure ofwater in the a spring pressed auxiliary lever 25, 'constantly pressingupward on the pintle 14.

The pressure of the lever 25 against the pintle 14 varies according tothe relative position of the float 24 and valve 13.

The lever 25 and its cooperating spring may be arranged in any suitablemanner; I

, prefer to pivot the lever 25 to the lever 21 at 26, provide aperforation in the lever 25 for the free passage of the bolt 22, screw anut 27 on said bolt and interpose a coiled expanding spring 28 betweenthe nut 27 and the lever 25.

I prefer to have the fork 19 serve as a guide for the lever 21 duringits movement about thepin 20.

Fig. 1,. shows the position of the device after the water-level hasreached a height to. lift the float 24 and close the valve 13.

The 0 eration froin this position is as follows: en the waterlevellowers the float 24 will move down about the pin 20, the tension of thespring 28 will be increased, because the pivot 26 moves down while thepivots 15' and 20 remain station-j ary, until the lower end of the slot23 contacts with and moves the pin 15 and valve 13 up off of its seat12; when the valve 13 has been lifted from its seat 12 by the positivemovement of the end of the slot 23 against the pin 15, the tension ofthe spring 28 is suflicient to force the valve 13 up against the newsomewhat reduced water pressure until the pin 15 strikes against theupper end of the slot 23, and as the water lowers more the float 24 willlower until the lower end of the slot 23 again rests against the pin 15.The water from the constant supply through the opening 6 now flowsthrough the valve chamber 5 and out through the opening 11 raising thewaterlevel again in the tank or its equivalent containing the device.When the water-level rises the float 24 will move upward about the pin20, reducing the tension on the the pin 15 a further upward movement of.

the float 24 will move the valve 13 down toward its seat 12 and as soonas the area of the opening between the valve 13 and its seat 12 becomesless than the area of the opening 11 the velocity of the water passingthrough the valve chamber 5 will suddenly move the valve 13 down on toits seat 12 against the tension of the spring 28, because the tension onsaid spring is the least at that time. The tension of spring 28 can beadjusted by the nut 27. The movement of the valve 13 downward by theaction of the water thus moves the pin 15 away from the upper end of theslot 23 and against the spring pressed lever 25, which assists the float24 to rise on the water and this rising of the float 24 will again causethe slotted end of the lever 21 to move down so that the pin 15 restsagainst the upper end of the slot 23 as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 2, the valve 13 is shown inverted, i. e. it is moved verticallydown to be opened and is moved up to be closed; the valve may bearranged to be moved horizontally. if preferred. In this view the valve13 acts as a pilot valve to control the movement of. the piston 29 inthe cylindrical valve-chamber 5. The hole 11 which is in the top of thevalve chamber 5 is made considerably larger than a hole 30 formingcommunication between the valve chamber 5 and the water supply chamber31. A constant pressure of water is kept in the chamber 31 by any.source-of supply as through a large pipe not shown,

secured in the hole 32. The chamber 31 is also provided with a largeoutlet 33, concentric with the piston 29, which is furnished with thevalve seat 34 against which the valve 35 is arranged to move. The valve35 is rigidly connected to the piston 29 by means of the stem 36 and isguided in its vertical movement by the piston 29 and. an integral stem37 passing through the guide piece 38 made integral with the valve seat34.

The operation of the valve 13 in this construction is identical withthat already described only that the valve inopening and closing movesin the reverse directions. To attain the reverse action on the valve 13by the float moving the same as is shown and described in Fig. 1, it isnecessary to place the point 26 and its cotiperating parts at thepressure in the chamber to close said outlet and The area of the piston29 is made larger than the areaof the opening closed by the valve 35, sothat when the valve 13 is opened the pressure in the valve chamber 5.will be reduced because the opening 11. is much greater than the hole 30an the constant supply chamber 31 will force the piston 29 upward intothe chamber 5. This action opens the valve 35 and allows the water toflow out through the large opening 33.

When the water in the tank rises Suficiently to raise the float 24 andclose the valve 13, the pressure of water in the chamber 31 will closethe valve 35 stopping the flow of water through the hole 33.

I am not aware that valves controlled by a float have ever been madequick acting and I therefore make claim to such a valve broadly.

It is to be understood .that the arrange ment and construction of partsare capable of being radically changed from that shown and still bewithinthe scope of my inventlon.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In an automatic valve, a valvechamber containing constant fluidpressure, an outlet from said chamber, a plvoted lever provided with aslot, a valve 1n said valve provided with a stem having a pin extendinginto said slot so as to provide lost motion between said valve and saidpivoted lever, and

spring pressed means for taking up said lost motion. 1

2. In a quick acting float valve, apivoted lever provided with a floatand a slot, a liquid an air chamber, a valve in said valve chamberarranged to close an opening, in said chamber, a stem on said valveprovided with a pin extending into said slot and a spring pressed leverto normally hold said pin in one end of said slot. I

3. In a device of the class described, a valve, an operating leverforsaid valve, a pivotal pin upon which said operatinglever is pivotallymounted, a second lever pivoted at one end to said operating lever andits free end arranged to engage the valve stem and means mounted on saidpivotal pin for yieldingly holding the free'end of said second leveragainst the valve stem 4. In a device of the class described, a pivotedlever provided with a slot, a valve provided with a stem having a pinextending into the slot in the lever so as to provide lost motionbetween said valve and saidlever, and spring pressed means for taking upthe lost motion.

5. In a device of the class described, a valve, an operating lever forsaid valve, a second lever pivoted at one end to said operating leverand its free end arranged to engage the valve stem and means for yieldingly holding the free end of said second lever against the valve stem.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribin witnesses, this 30th day of September, 190 atChicago, Illinois.

' CLARENCE E. ALLGEYER. Witnesses:

MILTON Lnnom,

, R. J. Jasmin.

supply valve chamber provided with

